Pirate-themed CT scanner helps New York City kids find calm waters before tests

The new CT scanning machine, photographed by Buzzfeed, uses a nautical pirate theme to help kids relax. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

Avast ye, mateys!

Young buccaneers in need of a CT scan at one New York City hospital are in for a treat.

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The New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital has turned its CT scan room into a pirate-themed island.

The scan lasts for under a minute, but requires at least 10 to 15 minutes of prep time. Radiologists need the children to stay completely still, which is tough if the kids are nervous. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

Children enter the room by walking a plank and settling into a boat-shaped table. Radiologists then weigh anchor and slide the table right into the scanner, while swashbuckling pirates look on from the walls.

It's still a fantasy and it doesn't detract from the fact that many of the children who need these tests are coming to the hospital in pain. Some are coming to track the growth of cancers. Others have perhaps fallen down a flight of stairs and are suffering from ankle or skull fractures. Still others were born with conditions that need to be closely monitored, like congenital heart defects.

Kids are surrounded by a friendly cast of characters, like this old salt of a monkey. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

A study conducted by the hospital found that even low doses of radiation may cause cancer 30 or 40 years down the line.

So the hospital wanted to make sure that its patients were exposed to lowest dosage possible, according Dr. Carrie Ruzal-Shapiro, the hospital's chief of pediatric radiology.

The machine’s table is shaped like a pirate’s ship. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

"If a patient needs a CT scan, the risk is still much smaller than the benefit," Ruzal-Shapiro told The News. "What we wanted to do was minimize the risk."

GE offered a scanner that produced good quality imaging with a low dose of radiation, the doctor said. The company offered two choices of decorative motifs—fish or pirates. The decision sparked some "vociferous" debate among the hospital staff.

To make sure the kids are settled and still, the radiologists can ask them to count the number of animals around the room. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

Ruzal-Shapiro admits she was a pirate person.

"The pirates were cute," Ruzal-Shapiro said, referring to the friendly and approachable faces of the monkey and tiger pirates in the room. "Clearly, those of us who liked pirates won."

A nurse helps a 14-year-old patient get ready for her test. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

The scanner officially dropped anchor earlier in August. Since then, Ruzal-Shapiro says the response has been wonderfully positive.

It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes for kids to get settled onto the table and hooked up to an IV. The test itself lasts under a minute, but the radiologists are depending on the kids to stay very still during that time.

“It’s really very fanciful and it allows children to imagine all sorts of things,” Dr. Carrie Ruzal-Shapiro said. (Macey J. Foronda/Buzzfeed)

The pirates are giving parents a way to distract their kids.

"It allows children to imagine all sorts of things," Ruzal-Shapiro said. "So it doesn't seem like a horrible, scary chore."